1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to emergency life rafts. More particularly, the field of the invention involves emergency life rafts used in aircraft for emergency landings in water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aircraft which fly over oceans or other large bodies of water require life rafts in case of a premature landing of the aircraft in the water. These life rafts are similar to life rafts used with marine craft except that the aviation life rafts must be much lighter in weight to be transported by the aircraft, and must inflate more rapidly because generally aircraft sink in the ocean faster than sinking marine vessels. Typically, an aviation life raft weighs approximately 50 pounds and is stored in a valise capable of being stored in compartments of the aircraft. Once deployed, however, the aviation life raft must rapidly inflate (30 seconds) and protect survivors from hostile environments. The life raft must keep the crash survivors afloat, and also guard the crash survivors against hypothermia which can be fatal within minutes.
Aviation life rafts must fulfill several areas of concern to the crash survivor: the life raft must be easy to deploy and operate, entry must be easily accomplished, the survivors must be protected from the sea and the elements, the life raft must function adequately, and the life raft must provide an area for the survivors to rest with some level of comfort. An aviation life raft must be designed with these concerns in mind, and must comply with the physical constraints of the amount and size allowed on an aircraft.
An aviation life raft is typically inflated by a "rip cord" action similar to the opening of a parachute. Lifelines and boarding ladders are attached to the life raft so that people in the water may pull themselves into the life raft or hold onto same until all survivors have boarded the life raft. To protect the crash survivors and provide the most comfort, a double tube design provides both redundancy in the floatation device and a higher back upon which the survivor may sit against. The survivors must be further protected by a canopy, typically supported by assemble-able rods, which is most desirable in the form of a self-erecting canopy. The self-erecting canopy has a support structure which supports the canopy extending over the life raft. To guard against hypothermia of the survivors, a double floor may be employed to insulate the crash survivors from cold water.
However, the prior aviation life rafts present many difficulties for survivors of downed aircraft in that the structures are not quickly and easily assembled in the hostile conditions often found in ocean, gulf and large lake waters. For example, the inflation of the boat must be arranged, and the canopy must be separately assembled. Also, the survivors must be provided with mechanisms to aid their entry into the life raft. Further, the structure of the life raft should accommodate the survivors for several days or more until a rescue party locates the life raft. What is needed in the art is an aviation life raft which improves upon these various constraints of prior aviation life rafts.